Zhang Yixing is a simple man. All that he needs to boost his mood are a good, long sleep and some food to fill his seemingly bottomless stomach. Napping has always been his favorite pastime and he has learned from the best—his best friend, Luhan—that weekends mornings should be spent on a satisfying trip to the slumber land. Therefore, when he is already up at 9 o’clock on Saturday morning and a handsome, white-blue-striped t-shirt has been worn under a dark blue blazer paired with jeans trousers, there is definitely something up with Zhang Yixing.

Not only that he has been properly dressed up, Yixing has also been busying himself with preparing his table for what seems to be a pretty decent breakfast for two. He runs over to grab a clean cloth and uses it to wipe one of the plates, only to make it even more spotless—if it were possible. He puts the used cloth away and rubs his palms together before he picks a spoon and tastes his home-made cream soup—for the nth time this morning—and his lip in approval afterwards.

The awaited door bell rings, so he quickly throws the spoon on to the sink—which lands with a loud ‘Clank’—and hurries to answer the door. What he meets, however, is not what he has expected.

“Jinri?” Yixing asks in disbelieve as soon as he sees the shorter woman, “what the heck are you doing here at this hour?”

Jinri grins sheepishly, clearly feeling guilty for disturbing him at such early morning. Yet, being Jinri, she answers him without any hesitation. “I’m sorry to bother you in the morning, but I want to ask you something about Luhan. I’ve just…”

“Jinri, I don’t think this is a good time for you to be here,” Yixing cuts her off and winces when he comes out more stern than he actually intended. Nevertheless, he continues, “Next time you want to show up in front of my door, call me first, kay? Now, shoo,” he waves Jinri off to dismiss her, “I’ll call you later, alright?”

Yixing can recognize the look of bafflement in Jinri’s face and he can’t blame her for doing so. After all, Yixing always gives off a kind soul vibe; people expect him to be the type of guy who will still smile and apologize if he is being punched by a drunken bastard. To be honest, he doesn’t really mind Jinri coming to her to talk about Luhan because he is more than willing to give a hand to their relationship, but she is simply appearing in the wrong time. He doesn’t have much time to explain but he really needs to get rid of Jinri soon, before she comes.

Before Jinri can question his unusual behavior, she hears a feminine voice from behind her.

“Yixing, who is she?”

Jinri turns around to see a slightly tanned, full-figured brunette leaning on the wall across Yixing’s door with her hands crosses below her voluminous s. Her long, wavy hair is kept up in a tight bun, with some strands jutting out messily. Although exhaustion is obvious on her face, her beautiful features are still prominent. Her small, sharp eyes scrutinize Jinri, scanning her from head to toe and making the younger woman uncomfortable, and her frown doesn’t make Jinri feel any better.

 “Choi Jinri, my mentee from the company. She asked for some work stuffs but it’s all finished,” Yixing smoothly answers despite of the dismissive exchanges of glances he shares with Jinri. “Please come in, honey,” he adds with a pleading smile. Jinri grasps the situation quickly and with a curt nod directed both at Yixing and the older woman, she moves aside and is about to go home when her wrist is caught by her.

“Your mentee? At this kind of time?” she asks him with suspicion while still keeping a death grip around Jinri’s wrist.

“You know, Xiu Min told me something pretty fishy a couple months ago. He said that you,” she pokes at Yixing’s chest with her free hand, “met your mentee in the club. I didn’t really pay any heed to that because I trusted you,” she pauses and now glares at Yixing, “but now you have to explain yourself, Mister.”

Feeling the need to clear up the misunderstanding, Jinri quickly buts in.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, Ma’am, but there is nothing between me and him. I’m actually the girlfriend of his good friend, Luhan and I came here this early because of that. I’m sorry for disturbing your morning.”

The brunette suddenly chokes on her own spit. “But Luhan is gay, don’t lie,” she blurts out. Before Jinri can rebut it, the brunette lets go Jinri’s hand and keeps hold of Yixing’s collar instead. “You! You shouldn’t tell Luhan what I’ve told you! It is supposed to be a secret!”

“I didn’t!” Yixing quickly refuses, his hands hold the brunette’s so that she won’t suffocate him, and his face is reddened in suppressed fury, “Luhan doesn’t know a single word about that! I have my mouth sealed!”

When the full-figured brunette finally releases him while still eyeing Yixing in disbelieve, he scratches the back of his head while his gaze moves back and forth between the two women. He hasn’t expected to be greeted by such a merry Saturday morning. His eyes fall at the brunette and when she replies him with another cold glare, he sighs in defeat.

 “Listen, Meylin, she,” Yixing points at Jinri, “is really is Luhan’s girlfriend. That happens way before the will reading, okay.” Eyeing the skeptic look on the brunette—Meylin—and the confused expression gracing Jinri’s face, Yixing sighs again.

“Okay, let me introduce you to each other. Meylin, this is Choi Jinri, my mentee and also Luhan’s girlfriend since half a year ago or more; I’m not really sure but they’ve been together for a quite long time. Jinri, this is Xi Meylin, my fiancé and Luhan’s cousin.”

Jinri stretches her hand to meet Meylin’s and—albeit the brunette’s hesitance—shakes it firmly. Meylin still has that unbelieving look painted on her round, dainty face so Yixing cuts her off before she can say anything. “Luhan makes an exception for her, Meylin, you should believe her.”

Meylin throws a judging both Jinri and Yixing, scanning every parts of their facial expression as if waiting for a mistake to happens, but when it doesn’t she shrugs. “I believe you,” Meylin finally says curtly, ”and her,” she adds after giving Jinri another once over, “but I don’t believe Luhan.”

“Meylin…”

“No, Yixing, really. I can’t trust him. Now, why are you here again, Jinri? You said it is about Luhan, right?” albeit the blunt words she is using, Meylin’s tone is much more sympathetic than before, almost sounding like she is pitying Jinri.

Jinri bits her lower lip, unsure if she should share her problem with this cousin of Luhan. Sure, being his cousin, Meylin must have known more about Luhan, but from the way Meylin is talking about him, it seems that she doesn’t like him. However, Meylin doesn’t give Jinri the option to refuse as the brunette drags Jinri inside the apartment, passing a dumbfounded Yixing who is standing on the door.

 “Oh, poor girl,” Meylin coos, but instead of pity, mischief is heard in her tone, “let me see what I can do for you.”

Luhan wakes up to a pounding headache and a terrible nausea. He shields his overly sensitive eyes from the bright sunlight seeping through his opened curtain. Someone clearly has done it for him while he was still asleep. He groans painfully as he sits up on his bed. He feels like ; his head is almost like it is rammed by a thousand hammers. It has been a long time since Luhan last awoke to a disastrous hangover. He has always drunken responsibly and stopped before he reaches his limit, but last night he obviously didn't give a damn about it. All he wanted was to get drunk, so that he can pretend that he wasn't stupid and become courageous enough to face Jinri.

Speaking of her, where is she? Luhan lifts the comforter out of habit and is disappointed to find out that her side of the bed is empty. He massages his temple in a vain attempt to ease his headache. He is totally when he wakes up, so he and Jinri must have had last night. She has been the only one that he screws for the past semester, so somehow, he must have managed to coax her into doing so. It surprises him, really, because the last time he remembered, Jinri was afraid--or disgusted is probably a more suitable term--of a skin contact with him.

Luhan ponders about what kind of wonder he did to make her agree with him--he can only faintly remember glimpses of scenes from last night--but he stops before his head aches even more. With staggering steps he reaches the bathroom and immediately propels all of his stomach content into the toilet bowl once he is inside. The sound of flushing is heard while he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. With trembling hands, he props himself up from the cold bathroom tiles and holds on the bathroom sink.

Luhan stares at his reflection on the mirror and grimaces at his awful appearance. His eye lids were edematous and decorated with dark eye bags that remind him of Zitao. His nose is red and when he rubs it while inhaling, the fact that it is stuffed downs at him. Did he cry? God, that would have been really embarrassing. Crying is for the weaklings, he has always thought, so he always holds his tears back. However, when he is drunk he has the tendency to be a little bit more sentimental--which is why he has always avoided drinking too much. Luhan sluggishly walks under the shower and turns in on. The warm water droplets falls onto his skin, the warmth eases his tense muscles. He closes his eyes as he faces the shower, letting the water hits his face. 

His headache is only decreasing a little after the shower, but Luhan feels a lot more refreshed. With only faded jeans hanging low on his waist, he walks into the kitchen while drying his hair with towel. He is planning on making a cup of coffee when his eyes fall to the food on the dining table. There is a toast, an egg, and a cup of black coffee--his usual breakfast--along with a piece of note attached to the cup. Jinri must have made it for him. The thought warms his insides and he sits on the chair instantly. Letting the towel hanging on his shoulder, he takes a bite of the toast while unfolding the piece of paper. It is a regular toast that she always makes, he knows, but it taste so... Jinri. The amount of margarine, the way the eggs is battered, the pinches of salt and sugar; everything is so her.

Luhan, I'm out for a walk. I'll be back before noon. Please enjoy the breakfast.

Jinri

Luhan crumples the paper and throws it on a nearby trash can.  Saying that Jinri is going to exercise at Saturday morning is as much of bull as Zitao claiming he wouldn't but any leopard printed clothes again. It is impossible. Jinri is never one to move a muscle before noon on a weekend, heck, she would not move a muscle on any day. Between the two of them, Jinri is the one who will always choose to laze around indoor rather than doing some activities outdoor. Her head must have not working properly that she ends up with such a poor excuse. He stands up--ignoring his painful head--leaves the toast half-eaten, and walks toward his phone.

Hello, this is Choi Jinri. I can't pick up my phone now, so you can call me later or leave me a message after the beep.

Beep.

Click.

Hello, Zhang Yixing speaking. I'm busy right now so call me later. Or you can leave me a message after the beep, but I never open my voice box, anyway.

Hello, this is Choi Jinri. I can't pick up my phone now, so you can call me later or leave me a message after…

Click.

Hello, Zhang Yixing speaking. I'm busy right now so call me later. Or you can leave me a message after the beep, but I…

Click.

Hello, this is Choi Jinri. I can't pick up my phone now, so…

Click.

Hello, Zhang Yixing speaking. I'm…

Click.

"Hello?"

"Song Qian, this is Luhan. Is Jinri with you?"

"No. She is not with you? Are you two fighting again?"

"No! Well, it's... Never mind. Have a nice weekend."

"Hey, don't…"

Click.

"Yes, Lu?"

"Why the hell weren't you answering?!"

There is a silence in the other side of the phone. However, before Yixing can say anything, Luhan cuts him off.

"Jinri is there, right?"

Luhan's rhetorical question is not waiting for an answer, but his worried tone says otherwise.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I was..."

"Tell her to stay there, I'll pick her up," Luhan cuts in again. He scurries in a hurry into his room, not paying any heed to his head that feels almost like it was going to topple off from his neck.

"Luhan, Meylin is here," Yixing whispers, as if afraid that the said woman will hear him.

"So?" Luhan replies nonchalantly, pushing his head through the hole of his white tee while still holding his phone between his ear and shoulder.

"So... Don't fight in my house, both of you. I heard from Jinri that you're beating Kris up when he shows up on your doorstep."

Luhan pauses for a while as he inserts his arms into the shirt.

"She told you that? Did she tell you that he was also punching me and breaking my precious vase? Anyway, you know I don't hit women. So rest aside, I won't lay a finger on your Meylin."

"Yeah, but you broke his nose."

"He deserves it. I should've killed him."

Yixing stops, the coldness in Luhan's voice gives shivers down his spine. He knows how deep Luhan loathes Kris, thus he can't say anything regarding Luhan's murderous intention, for the older man might not be joking and is actually considering it. Yixing gulps and waits for Luhan to talk again.

"I'll be there in fifteen. Tell your Meylin to shut her ing mouth when she sees me."

Without waiting for Yixing's reply, Luhan turns the call off. It seems that he has to greet another dear cousin of his.

TBC

AN:

We passed 100 subbs! Wow! I'm really grateful T_T

Thank you to all 105 subbs. And 16 votes. I'm so happy. T_T

I really can't wait to update once I saw that this story reached more than 100 subs, but I can only update now. I hope you all enjoy the update. I'm looking forward to see how you feel about the chapter, or the story as general.

with many love,

himalayancat